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Joyce Echaquan's family files $2.7M suit over her death at a Joliette hospital

Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven, died in a Joliette hospital in 2020 after filming staff insulting her.

A vigil with health workers was held at Place du Canada in Montreal Sept. 28, 2022 in memory of Joyce Echaquan, the Atikemekw woman who filmed herself being mocked at Joliette Hospital as she was dying in 2020.
A vigil with health workers was held at Place du Canada in Montreal Sept. 28, 2022 in memory of Joyce Echaquan, the Atikemekw woman who filmed herself being mocked at Joliette Hospital as she was dying in 2020. Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette

Joyce Echaquan’s family has filed a nearly $2.7-million lawsuit over her death in a Joliette hospital two years ago.

Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw mother of seven, died in the hospital after filming staff insulting her. The video of her pleading for help, which she broadcast live on Facebook, sparked widespread indignation across Canada.

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A coroner has since found her death was accidental but the “racism and prejudice” she faced at the hospital contributed to it.

In addition to the hospital, the Centre hospitalier régional de Lanaudière, the lawsuit also targets a nurse and doctor who worked there.

“It’s difficult to live this today but we want justice for my daughter, for Joyce,” Echaquan’s mother, Diane Dubé, said during a news conference Thursday.

“I’m still very lost … but this is a new chapter,” added Echaquan’s husband, Carol Dubé, saying he hopes the lawsuit can help his family and others heal.

Echaquan’s death pushed the debate over systemic racism in Quebec to the forefront, with Premier François Legault refusing to acknowledge it exists.

Legault drew criticism again this month after stating the problems at the Joliette hospital that led to Echaquan’s death had been “settled.”

A vigil was held in Montreal on Wednesday to mark two years since Echaquan’s death.

jfeith@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/jessefeith

  1. Coroner Géhane Kamel comments on her report on the death of Joyce Echaquan during a news conference in Trois-Rivières on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021.

    Systemic racism is 'exactly what happened' to Joyce Echaquan, coroner says

  2. A vigil with health workers was held at Place du Canada in Montreal on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022 in memory of Joyce Echaquan, the Atikemekw woman who filmed herself being mocked at the Joliette Hospital as she was dying in 2020.

    Montreal vigil marks second anniversary of Joyce Echaquan's death

  3. Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw woman and mother, videoed the treatment she received shortly before her death in a Joliette Hospital.

    Top stories of 2020: Joyce Echaquan's hospital video shocked Quebec